UNC Horizons 2015 Annual Conference | The Art of Women Working Recovery https://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/events/unc-horizons-2015-annual-conference-the-art-of-women-working-recovery
]]>No publisherHorizons2015/02/04 15:55:00 GMT-5EventA Big Thank Youhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/a-big-thank-you
Another successful year for the UNC Horizons Program Holiday Tree.For the second year in a row the UNC Horizons Program sponsored their Holiday Tree.

Over 400 donations were collected in the administrative office during the first part of December. On December 8, the program's clients were able to browse the donations and choose the best gifts for their children.

In addition to the grateful clients, the entire staff from UNC Horizons Program would like to thank all who donated.

]]>No publisherHorizonsHome2014/12/19 14:55:00 GMT-5News ItemEvette Horton, PhDhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/evette-horton-phd
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonElisabeth Johnson, FNP, PhDhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/elisabeth-johnson-fnp-phd
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonSenga Carroll, LCSWhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/senga-carroll-lcsw
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonCarol McClelland, LPC, LPCS, LCAS, CCShttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/carol-mcclelland-lpc-lpcs-lcas-ccs
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonR. Marc Strange, LCAS, LPC, L.Achttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/r-marc-strange-lcas-lpc-l.ac
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonHendrée Jones, PhDhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/hendree-jones-phd
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonKimberly R. Andringa, PhD, MSPHhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/department-directory/horizons-program/kimberly-r-andringa-phd-msph
No publisherHorizons2014/11/21 12:00:00 GMT-5PersonA baby's cry could indicate prenatal drug exposurehttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/baby-cries-show-evidence-of-cocaine-exposure-during-pregnancy
The cries of babies whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy have increased amounts of “hyperphonation,” a new study finds.A new study conducted by University of North Carolina School of Medicine researchers provides the first known evidence of how a similar acoustic characteristic in the cry sounds of human infants and rat pups may be used to detect the harmful effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on nervous system development.

“These findings are important because studies of prenatal drug exposure in humans are always limited by not knowing if infant nervous system damage was due to the effects of a specific drug, such as cocaine, or the effects of other associated factors, such as maternal depression, poor prenatal care and other drug use, that are often linked with maternal drug use during pregnancy,” said Philip Sanford Zeskind, PhD, lead author of the study published October 22 in the journal PLOS ONE.

“The discovery of the similar spectral characteristic in rat pup vocalizations will allow for translational analyses that can be used to detect the isolated effects of cocaine or similar drugs on brain limbic mechanisms common to humans, rodents and other mammals,” said Zeskind, a researcher at Levine Children’s Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina and a research professor of psychology and pediatrics at UNC.

The study was conducted as part of the Cocaine Affects Mother-Infant Dyads (CAMID) research initiative. The CAMID project’s principal investigator, Josephine M. Johns, PhD, professor of psychiatry and psychology at UNC, is a senior author of the PLOS ONE paper. The CAMID research group focuses on how drug abuse affects the mother infant dyad on multiple levels. The work is funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health.

Previous work by Zeskind and others has shown how a high-pitched spectral characteristic of the infant’s cry sound called “hyperphonation” may show that a newborn infant has suffered nervous system damage due to prenatal drug exposures – even when the baby otherwise appears to be perfectly healthy by traditional pediatric examinations.

In addition to finding increased amounts of hyperphonation in the cries of human infants whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy, the UNC researchers found a little known spectral characteristic, which is similar in pitch and acoustic structure to hyperphonation, to be in the ultrasonic vocalizations of rat pups that were treated with prenatal cocaine exposure. This paper is one of the first translational findings of similar drug exposure effects in human and rodent subjects and highlights the CAMID research efforts to bring basic laboratory and clinical research closer together to more quickly find target clinical interventions.

]]>No publisherHorizonsHome2014/10/24 11:39:16 GMT-4News ItemUNC Horizons treatment program receives $1 million challenge grant from Oak Foundationhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/unc-horizons-treatment-program-receives-1-million-challenge-grant-from-oak-foundation
If matched with $1 million to be raised by UNC, the grant will help buy a new building in Carrboro to serve more women in North Carolina each year who battle substance abuse(Chapel Hill, N.C.—Oct. 6, 2014) – UNC Horizons Program, a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and parenting women based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has received a $1 million challenge grant that would enable the program to serve more women from North Carolina each year.

The pledge of support comes from Oak Foundation, which will provide a $1 million grant contingent on UNC raising a matching $1 million in private donations by May 2015. The total would go toward the purchase of a new building in Carrboro.

Oak Foundation funds efforts that address social and environmental concerns, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. Oak has its main administrative office in Geneva, Switzerland, and a presence in the United States and seven other countries: Belize, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ethiopia, India, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe.

“The generous donation from Oak Foundation provides funds that are transformational for UNC Horizons,” said Dr. Hendree Jones, executive director of Horizons. “Securing a permanent space for our program will allow us to expand our capacity to help heal the lives of more of North Carolina’s women and children affected by drug addiction.”

Based in the UNC School of Medicine’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, Horizons was established in 1993 and since has helped almost 5,000 North Carolina women coping with substance-use disorders, including many scarred by abuse and violence. But need outstrips capacity, resulting in about one of every four women seeking help being referred to other programs.

That’s why Horizons Program aims to purchase a facility to increase both capacity and programming. Plans call for a 12,000-square-foot space in Shelton Station, an approved mixed-use project in downtown Carrboro, scheduled for completion in 2015.

“We would be able to double the number of women and families served each year and triple our ability to provide on-site daycare,” Jones said.

A new building also would enable the program to provide on-site interactive training to local, national and international clinicians who are eager to learn about implementing the Horizons Program model, she said.

A $3 million investment is required to realize the vision for a new facility. Meeting Oak Foundation’s challenge would cover a significant portion of that need.

“We are proud to support UNC Horizons and believe that the new permanent home will enable it to provide a therapeutic and nurturing environment and continue its work, which is life-changing, not only for women, but also for their children,” said Millie Brobston, a program officer with Oak Foundation.

For information about making a donation to help meet the challenge, contact Tonya Taylor at (919) 962-9589 or taylortr@live.unc.edu.

]]>No publisherHorizonsHomeQ2_2015_H&H2014/10/07 09:15:00 GMT-4News ItemWalter Magazine's At The Tablehttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/walter-magazines-at-the-table
Join us for the first in a series of WALTER food and wine events called AT THE TABLE. The evening will include a VIP meet-and-greet, panel conversation, tasting of the chefs’ selected dishes, wine pairings, a book signing, and more. Proceeds from this event benefit UNC Horizons Program.

WALTER editor Liza Roberts hosts an evening event featuring N&O food writer Andrea Weigl and four of the Triangle’s celebrated women chefs for a lively conversation about the farm-to-table movement, their career successes and challenges and what delights their palates.

Featuring

Ashley ChristensenRaleigh restaurateur recently named Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation

Andrea Reusingchef-owner of Chapel Hill’s Lantern restaurant, and Beard Foundation’s 2011 Best Chef in the Southeast

A portion of the proceeds of the event will benefit the UNC Horizons program which helps provide help, hope and healing for women and children throughout North Carolina. To learn more about Horizons visit www.unchorizons.org.

]]>No publisherHorizonsHome2014/09/18 09:20:00 GMT-4News ItemJones Attends Women and Addiction Forumhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/jones-attends-women-and-addiction-forum
UNC Horizons Program Director, Dr. Hendree Jones attended a national forum co-sponsored by the National Council for Behavioral Health.On July 22, 2014, The National Council for Behavioral Health co-sponsored a forum hosted by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Rob Portman (R-OH) on women and addiction.

Keynote Speakers:

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)

Senator Rob Portman (R-OH)

Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-OH)

Senator Amy Klobucher (DFL-MN)

Michael Botticelli, Acting Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

RALEIGH – On the eve of the legislative short session, a legislative study commission releases its 2014 Annual Report. Recommendations of the Child Fatality Task Force are submitted to the Governor and General Assembly. Over the past 23 years recommendations advanced by policymakers and enacted into law have helped contribute to a 45% decline in the child death rate

“Growing the prosperity of our state depends on assuring that our next generation grows up healthy, safe and strong. While the Task Force offers a sustained and strategic focus on strategies to prevent child death and promote well-being, the Governor, legislators and other policy-makers are the leaders who ultimately translate these recommendations into policies that save the lives of children,” said Karen McLeod, co-chair of Child Fatality Task Force and President/CEO of Benchmarks.

The recommendations of the Task Force cover a broad spectrum of causes of child death – including infant mortality, violence and unintentional injury. Since two-thirds of all child deaths are to babies before their first birthdays, the CFTF has a number of recommendations to promote healthy birth outcomes.

For example, the CFTF recommends one-time funding for a facility to serve high-risk pregnant women and their children. UNC Horizons is a comprehensive substance abuse treatment program for NC pregnant and/or parenting women and their children. UNC Horizons serves women from every corner of NC with evidence-informed interventions for substance abuse and critical wrap-around services. They also conduct research and train professionals around the state and the nation.

“This is a cross cutting issue. Substance abuse, especially of prescription drugs, is a growing problem in the North Carolina and the nation. Unintentional poisoning has increased greatly among teens over the past several years,” noted Dr. Peter Morris, Child Fatality Task Force Co-Chair and Executive Director of Urban Ministries of Wake County. “Now we are also seeing more and more babies born with substances in their system. These children are at risk for sleep, irritability and other behavioral issues and thus parenting may be challenging. Intervening at this critical point around birth can help save and improve lives.”

The Task Force also recommends on-going funding for existing, key infant mortality prevention programs that address every aspect of infant mortality, including preconception, pregnancy, birth, and first-year-of-life with a focus on geographic areas of high need as well as a one-time appropriation to the Perinatal Quality Collaborative of NC to implement data systems around a new screening requirement to detect certain treatable heart defects. Another recommendation to reduce infant mortality is for the Division of Medical Assistance to consider coverage of lactation consulting to support new mothers in their efforts to breastfeed. This is expected to save at least 14 lives and save more than $2 million annually.

Other recommendations include assuring safe drug disposal from take-back events and permanent drop boxes, banning youth from using commercial tanning beds, and further study of how to support adopted families.

In addition to detailing the issues reviewed by the CFTF over the past year and previous accomplishments, the Annual Report highlights the need to assure that each public dollar invested in children’s programs produces maximum return to further improve child outcomes and reduce fatalities. Careful evaluation can provide important answers about whether or not NC is getting the maximum return from any given investment by assuring that only best practice programs are used and by concentrating investment in an array of evidence-informed programs across the continuum of need and care in a way that promotes equity.

These recommendations represent more than 1,300 hours of volunteer input from diverse experts including policy-makers, doctors and other medical professionals, child welfare experts, law enforcement, educators, local leaders and others. Elizabeth Hudgins, executive director of the Child Fatality Task Force, thanked them, noting “more than 11,000 additional children are alive today due to the efforts of these experts, concerned policy-makers, and committed individuals putting these policies into practice. That hard work, time and dedication has translated to roughly the equivalent of helping as many kids reach their 18th birthday over the past two decades as the current freshmen classes at the universities of Appalachian State, East Carolina and North Carolina State combined.”

In 1991, the NC General Assembly adopted a child fatality prevention system. This system includes the NC Child Fatality Task Force, the policy arm of the system; the State Child Fatality Prevention Team (under the direction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner), which reviews individual cases and identifies statewide trends; and local child fatality prevention teams in all 100 counties, which review local cases and recommend local changes needed to prevent future child deaths.For more information about the Child Fatality Task Force, please see http://www.ncleg.net/DocumentSites/Committees/NCCFTF/Homepage/.

]]>No publisherHorizonsHome2014/05/13 11:15:00 GMT-4News ItemNEW LOCATION | UNC Horizons Programhttps://www.med.unc.edu/obgyn/news/new-location-unc-horizons-program
The UNC Horizons Program has moved from their Carrboro location.On February 10, 2014, the substance abuse treatment program for pregnant and/or parenting women and their children known as UNC Horizons Program moved.